The Osmium Zone was funded by the Institute of Physics. It was a general science zone where some of the scientists taking part had all previously studied physics but were now in roles outside of traditional academia and research that still required the science skills they had learnt. For example, Aaron, who has an undergraduate degree in physics, is a communications officer for the Royal Academy of Engineering, Keith now works for the National Nuclear Laboratory as a diplomat at the British Embassy in Tokyo, and Abbey is a mechanical engineer at Renishaw PLC.
Popular themes with students were the varied careers of the scientists, and different areas of physics, both related to these careers and on broader topics. The live chats were often busy and Natalie did particularly well in them, contributing 1,178 lines in total, the most of any scientist in November’s zones. Both Natalie and Aaron put special efforts in to answering ASK questions, often leaving detailed replies with links to further resources.
